Tootsie Pops are known for the catch phrase "How many licks does it take to get to the Tootsie Roll center of a Tootsie Pop?". The phrase was first introduced in an animated commercial which debuted on U.S. television in 1969.[3] In the original television ad, a questioning boy poses the question to a cow, a fox, a turtle and an owl. Each one of the first three animals tells the boy to ask someone else, explaining that they'd bite a Tootsie Pop every time they lick one. Eventually, he asks the owl, who starts licking it, but bites into the lollipop after only three licks, much to the chagrin of the boy, who gets the empty stick back. The commercial ends the same way, with various flavored Tootsie Pops unwrapped and being "licked away" until being crunched in the center.[4]

While the original commercial is 60 seconds long, an edited 30-second version and 15-second version of this commercial are the ones that have aired innumerable times over the years. The dialogue to the 60-second version is as follows:

Narrator (Herschel Bernardi): How many licks does it take to get to the Tootsie Roll center of a Tootsie Pop?

(crunch sound effect)

Narrator: The world may never know.

In the shorter 30-second ad, Mr. Owl returns the spent candy stick, and the boy's final line is replaced with a reaction shot and a beat of silence.[5][6] The 30-second commercial dialogue is as follows:

Questioning Boy: Mr. Turtle, how many licks does it take to get to the Tootsie Roll center of a Tootsie Pop?

Mr. Turtle: I ain't never made it without biting. Ask Mr. Owl.

Questioning Boy: Mr. Owl, how many licks does it take to get to the Tootsie Roll center of a Tootsie Pop?

Mr. Owl: Let's find out. A One... A.two-HOO...A three..

(crunch sound effect)

Mr. Owl: A Three!

Narrator: How many licks does it take to get to the Tootsie Roll center of a Tootsie Pop?

(crunch sound effect)

Narrator: The world may never know.

The 15-second commercial (which still airs today) only shows the boy with Mr. Owl and a different narrator (Frank Leslie) speaks the same above line, but without the scene showing the Tootsie Roll pops slowly disappearing with an APM Music track "Crepe Suzette" (composed by Cyril Watters) playing in the background. The question still stands unanswered.[7] The dialogue is as follows:

Questioning Boy: Mr. Owl, how many licks does it take to get to the Tootsie Roll center of a Tootsie Pop?

Mr. Owl: Let's find out. A One... A.two-HOO...A three..

(crunch sound effect)

Narrator (Frank Leslie): How many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop? The world may never know.

After the commercial, Mr. Oliver Owl became the mascot for Tootsie Roll Pops, appearing in marketing campaigns and on the packaging.

In the 1990s, a new commercial was made featuring a boy asking a robot and a dragon how many licks it takes to get to the center, with the Tootsie Pops known for the catch phrase "How many licks to the center of a Tootsie Pop?", rather than "How many licks does it take to get to the Tootsie Roll center of a Tootsie Pop?".[8]

In the early 1970s, Tootsie Pops were the initial lollipop of choice of the titular character in the TV series Kojak, and are seen prominently beginning in the December 12, 1973, episode "Dark Sunday" when Lt. Theo Kojak decides to favor them instead of cigarettes.

At some point, a rumor began that the lollipop wrappers which bore three unbroken circles were redeemable for free candy or even free items like shirts and other items. The rumor was untrue, but some shops have honored the wrapper offer over the years, allowing people to "win" a free pop.[citation needed]

Some stores redeemed lollipop wrappers with the "shooting star" (bearing an image of a child dressed as a Native American aiming a bow and arrow at a star) for a free sucker. This was clearly up to the store owner and not driven by the lollipop manufacturer.[9] One convenience store in Iowa City, Iowa, for example, gave candy away when the children asked. Also, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Osco Drug used to give children free suckers for star wrappers. In 1994, the owner of Dan’s Shortstop told a reporter that when he first opened children came by often, but after a while, he said he had to stop giving things away. Giveaways also occurred in Chico, California, where a 7-Eleven store manager in the Pleasant Valley area, said she had to stop because it had become too expensive.[10] Since 1982, Tootsie Roll Industries has been distributing a "consolation prize", the short story, The Legend of the Indian Wrapper, to children who mail in their Indian star wrappers.[11]

A student study at the University of Cambridge concluded that it takes 3,481 licks to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop.[12] Another study by Purdue University concluded that it takes an average of 364 licks to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop using a "licking machine",[13] while it takes an average of 252 licks when tried by 20. Yet another study by the University of Michigan concluded that it takes 411 licks to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop. A 1996 study by undergraduate students at Swarthmore College concluded that it takes a median of 144 licks (range 70–222) to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop.[14] Nolan Walker personally found that it takes 1,139 licks as documented in a home experiment on December, 1997.[15] Harvard Grad students created a rotating mechanical tongue and concluded it took 2255 licks.[citation needed] It took 2256 licks on one attempt for a normal raspberry Tootsie Pop to get the center showing. YouTube star Ryan Higa found out that it took 700 licks to get to the center of the Tootsie Pop.[16]

In 2014, the Tribology Laboratory at the University of Florida published a study examining the coupled effects of biology, corrosion, and mechanical agitation on the wear of Tootsie Roll Pops. Self reported wear data from 58 participants was used in conjunction with statistical analysis of actual lollipop cross-sectional information in a numerical simulation to compute the average number of licks required to reach the Tootsie Roll center of a Tootsie Roll Pop. The number of licks required to reach the center, based on equatorial cross-section data, was found to be nearly independent of the licking style with the one-sided approach requiring 195±18 licks and the full-surface approach requiring 184±33. Detailed examination of the lollipops indicates that the minimum candy shell thickness is rarely (if ever) located along the equator. Using the global minimum distance resulted in a calculated 130±29 licks to reach the center, independent of licking style.[17]